Using Etcher to copy our image

Until recently, there was a different way to copy an image file to an SD card in every different operating system; the open source piece of software, Etcher, sets out to solve this problem. Etcher is freely available for pretty much all operating systems, so we only need to document one process for all operating systems rather than detailing a different method for each OS. Etcher will run on any operating system that can run Electron. You can check the full list of supported operating systems for Electron on their website at http://electron.atom.io/docs/tutorial/supported-platforms/.

So, to get started with Etcher, head over to their website at https://etcher.io and download the latest version for your operating system. Run the installer as per the standard method for your operating system.

Once you have Etcher installed, open it and you should be presented with a screen like the following screenshot:

Click on the blue Select image button and browse to the Jessie Lite ZIP archive you just downloaded; there is no need to extract the ZIP archive with Etcher. You will then be presented with a screen like this:

At this point, you should insert your SD card into your computer's SD card reader. Etcher should automatically detect your SD card and progress onto the third section of the process. Click on the blue Flash! button to begin the copying process, and Etcher should display something similar to this:

You will be shown a completion estimate, the percentage copied, and the transfer rate in the Etcher window. Allow Etcher to complete this; then exit the program; and remove your SD card from your computer (no need to safely remove or eject it, Etcher has done it for you!).

You have now copied Raspbian Jessie Lite to your SD card, and you're ready to move on to our next section, Connecting to the GPIO headers.